Taking Up Space with Cassie Krajewski

In this episode, we welcome Bre Wolta, a relationship clarity coach, who shares her profound journey and expertise in helping women understand their relationship patterns, especially after experiencing narcissistic or emotionally manipulative relationships. Bre dives deep into her personal story of overcoming a toxic relationship and how it led her to support others facing similar struggles. She explains the nuances of narcissism, the dynamics of love bombing, and the challenges and importance of achieving self-awareness and contentment in aloneness. With a focus on embodiment and emotional regulation techniques such as EFT tapping, Bre provides valuable insights for those wanting to break free from destructive relationship cycles and find clarity and healing.

In this episode, we discuss:

Guest Bio:

Bre Wolta, EFT and The Clearing Work™ Certified Practitioner, is a Relationship Clarity Coach who is passionate about helping women heal from the mindf*ck of confusing relationships so that they can become the confident and secure woman they want to be. Bre's own toxic relationship healing journey, and her ability to hold safe space allows her to walk alongside clients as they find clarity and trust within themselves. It is her life's work, and deep honor, to help women wake up to their life and consciously move outside of their default patterning, so that they can reconnect to and nurture the most important relationship of all: the one they have with themselves.

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In this engaging episode, Rachel Flowers, a seasoned clinical therapist from Michigan, shares her story and professional journey. With over 16 years in private practice and a strong background in treating severe disordered eating, Rachel introduces her love for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy. She delves into her specialization in trauma, particularly spiritual and religious trauma, and discusses the effects of conservative religious upbringing on women's embodiment and self-care practices. The conversation explores how Rachel uses EMDR to help clients uncover and process deeply ingrained fear, shame, and disembodiment stemming from their spiritual experiences. 

Rachel lists several signs and symptoms that might indicate spiritual trauma, including:

Rachel emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with one’s body and intuition. She advocates starting with positive sensations and how they feel in the body. This can be something as simple as recalling a pleasant experience, like spending time with a pet, to help clients recognize and name their bodily sensations.

Rachel, along with her sister, Charis also have a podcast: Beyond Sacred Scars: Women Reclaiming Their Narratives From Religious Wounds. Their hope is to create a safe space with individuals of all religious stories and landings can come together.

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In this episode of Taking Up Space, Cassie welcomes Nicola Salmon, a fat positive fertility coach who specializes in supporting fat individuals through their fertility journeys. Nicola shares her personal story of being diagnosed with PCOS at 16 and the impact that had on her life. She discusses her evolution into fertility coaching, her experiences with a positive, textbook pregnancy despite societal expectations, and advocating for fat individuals' rights to fertility treatments and supportive healthcare. Nicola introduces her fat positive fertility framework, which includes components like safety, advocacy, self-compassion, and trust. The conversation delves into the myths and realities around fat bodies and pregnancy, the importance of compassionate care, and the need for advocacy in healthcare settings. Nicola also shares her current pursuits in exploring her body's capabilities, including cold water swimming, Morris dancing, and canny cross running with her dog. Listeners can connect with Nicola through her Instagram, book 'Fat and Fertile,' and various coaching programs.

Nicola's Journey to Becoming a Fat Positive Fertility Coach

Personal Experiences and Challenges in Fertility and Pregnancy

Discovering Fat Positivity and Community

Fat Positive Fertility Framework

Myths and Realities of Fatness and Pregnancy

Advocacy and Self-Compassion in Healthcare

Nicola's Book and Final Thoughts

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In this episode of 'Taking Up Space,' we are joined by Dr. Marianne Miller, an eating disorder therapist specializing in treating binge eating disorder and ARFID. Dr. Marianne shares her professional background and discusses her integrative approach to therapy, which includes leveraging her personal journey with an eating disorder and neurodivergence. They delve into the importance of addressing social justice in therapy, the stigma around atypical anorexia, and the intersections of multiple cultural and systemic influences on eating disorders. Dr. Marianne also highlights the significance of nourishment and self-care in recovery, offering insights into her specialized programs and resources.

Personal Journey and Lived Experience

Impact of Lived Experience on Professional Work

Challenges and Overcoming Barriers

Neurodivergence and Chronic Pain

Therapeutic Relationships and Authenticity

Social Justice and Therapy

Understanding Different 'Splaining' Concepts

The Role of Social Justice in Recovery

Exploring the Roots of Fat Phobia

he Binge Eating Disorder Cycle

Debunking Food Addiction Myths

Atypical Anorexia: Personal Insights

Taking Up Space: Personal Growth and Money Mindset

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In this episode, we welcome Dr. Mara Gordon, a family physician and medical educator, who shares her journey toward size inclusive medicine. Dr. Gordon, who practices in Camden, New Jersey, and resides in Philadelphia, reveals her transition from a weight-centric approach to a more inclusive practice that avoids emphasizing weight loss as a primary goal. She discusses the influence of reading literature by fat positive authors and the importance of viewing body health beyond just numbers on the scale. Dr. Gordon also provides practical advice for patients seeking size inclusive healthcare and highlights the significance of self-advocacy in medical settings. Additionally, she talks about the role of medical students in advancing this movement and her own experiences of balancing personal growth with professional practice. Join this insightful conversation as Dr. Gordon dives into the nuances of embodying change and fostering a healthier, more supportive medical environment.

Mara Gordon is a family physician on the faculty at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and a size inclusive doctor who writes and speaks frequently about practicing weight neutral medicine. She is working on a book about body liberation.

Dr. Mara Gordon's Journey to Size Inclusive Medicine

Influence of Literature on Medical Practice

Challenges in Traditional Medical Approaches

Reevaluating Weight-Centric Practices

Promoting Movement Over Weight Loss

Navigating Healthcare with Size Inclusivity

Finding a Size-Inclusive Primary Care Doctor

Advocating for Weight-Neutral Healthcare

Doctors' Openness to Patient Advocacy

Empowerment in Healthcare

Doctors' Perspectives on Weight and Health

Medical Education and Size Inclusivity

Complexities of Weight and Health

Systemic Pressures in Primary Care

Connect with Dr. Mara Gordon 

Dr. Mara's Substack: https://maragordonmd.substack.com

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In this episode, Dawn Serra, a counselor and coach from British Columbia, shares her journey from hosting MLM sex toy parties to becoming a sex and relationship coach. She discusses her experiences with fat activism, body trust, and the importance of non-stigmatizing mental health care for people in larger bodies. Dawn emphasizes the significance of self-worth, boundary setting, and reclaiming pleasure and sexuality, particularly for marginalized groups. She also touches on the concept of desirability politics and how societal norms shape our perceptions of attractiveness and self-worth. Dawn's insights offer a profound look into how individuals can begin to reclaim their bodies and experiences from oppressive cultural narratives, advocating for a life filled with joy, satisfaction, and aliveness.

Dawn’s personal story reflects a lifelong struggle with body image and dieting. From an early age, societal pressures and familial attitudes towards dieting shaped a disordered relationship with food and self-perception. The journey toward fat activism was transformative, leading Dawn to practice body trust and advocate for fat liberation in their professional sphere. This approach underscores the significance of not succumbing to societal stigmas and instead fostering self-acceptance and self-love.

Dawn emphasizes the importance of pleasure as a radical act of reclaiming one's body and autonomy, breaking away from diet culture, and the challenges in navigating relationships while in fat bodies. The conversation also touches on the societal impact of desirability politics, spatial injustice, and the necessity of integrating body size into the intersectional lens in mental health care. Dawn encourages the practice of finding micro moments of joy and satisfaction as a form of empowerment and resilience.

Guest Bio: 

Dawn Serra is a white, cis, queer, superfat, disabled therapist specializing in relationships, pleasure, and body trust. She is co-founder of Tend and Cultivate Counseling, a mental health group practice providing trauma-informed, weight-neutral, radical mental health care for people in bigger bodies. The nexus of her work is tending to the places where we are most tender and cultivating the things that contribute to our aliveness - joy, pleasure, connection, satisfaction, and wonder.

In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed:

Exploring Body Image and Fat Activism

Supporting Mental Health in Larger Bodies

Navigating Relationships and Self-Worth

Connecting Pleasure and Worthiness

Cultural Narratives and Systems of Oppression

The Three Pillars of Pleasure

The Power of Pleasure in the Present Moment

Understanding the Pillars of Pleasure

Connecting with the Senses

Micro Pleasure Practices and Autonomy

The Impact of Oppression on Pleasure

Fat Liberation and Spatial Injustice

Desirability Politics and Body Liberation

Reclaiming Pleasure and Setting Boundaries

Taking Up Space and Honoring Capacity

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Today we’re talking about dating and relationships in diet culture with therapist, Becca Moravec. The world of dating, where our bodies often feel like battlegrounds of judgment and bias. It's no secret that our culture's obsession with diets and body ideals can make finding love feel like an uphill battle, especially if you don't fit into society's narrow mold of beauty. Join us as we delve into Becca’s journey of dismantling diet culture and fatphobia to live authentically. Becca, once entrenched in these issues as a therapist, shares her transformation through Health at Every Size (HAES) and insights into the body liberation movement since 2020. We discuss how diet culture infiltrates modern relationships and online dating, conflating attractiveness with lovability and fostering judgment based on body size. Becca offers strategies to navigate these challenges, emphasizing the importance of feeling deserving of love and belonging. Learn how she supports others in overcoming dating fears, using tools like the Enneagram, and challenging harmful beliefs such as “I will date when I look like x.” We explore the impact of desirability politics, the benefits of rejecting body ideals, and how to maintain body liberation in relationships. Plus, practical tips and red flags for dating in a fat body, and the importance of authenticity in finding true connection.

Guest Bio

Becca Moravec has been an individual and couples therapist for 14 years, helping people have fuller, more authentic relationships with themselves and others. In addition to her LPC and LMFT, she is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor & a Certified Enneagram Practitioner. She owns a group practice, called Full Bloom Counseling in Denver, Colorado and speaks and teaches on Self-Belonging through Body Liberation, the Enneagram, and Relationship work. 

In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 

Resources Mentioned 

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Today, we’re diving into a conversation that’s incredibly close to my heart: the tangled relationship between ADHD and our struggles with food and body image. Here’s the truth—people with ADHD are four times more likely to develop an eating disorder. And it’s a cycle that can feel impossible to break. When eating disorders go untreated, they can make ADHD symptoms even worse. And when ADHD isn’t managed, it can wreak havoc on our relationship with food and our bodies. For so many of us, this is the missing puzzle piece in understanding and healing our relationship with food and our bodies, especially if we’ve been fighting this battle for what feels like forever and can’t seem to get traction in recovery.

Guest Bio

Aleta Storch (she/her) is a Dietitian, Therapist, and Certified Body Trust® Provider, and a leading expert in the field of ADHD nutrition. She specializes in providing neurodivergent-affirming, values-centered, body liberation work with folks that have ADHD, disordered eating / a history of dieting, and autoimmune conditions. Aleta is the owner and founder of a virtual group practice, Wise Heart Nutrition. She is also the creator of the groundbreaking, Eating with ADHD® approach and the monthly membership program, Neurished, which she developed as a resource for supporting ADHDers in understanding their brain and breaking out of the chaos in order to find more freedom and joy, and make lasting changes in their relationship with food and eating. 

In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 

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Today we explore the transformative journey of reclaiming movement. Our guest, Rachel Millner, an Eating Disorder Psychologist specializing in Body Trust, Joyful Movement, and Fat Activism, sheds light on the profound impact of systemic fatphobia in fitness and wellness spaces, and she articulates how mainstream fitness fails to consider diverse body types, leaving many individuals feeling unseen and unwelcome. We talk about how she’s advocating for body diversity in fitness instructors, what it means to reclaim movement and how not everyone is ready to incorporate that back into their life. Rachel guides us through the process of tuning into ourselves and embracing movement as a form of liberation. Through the lens of fat activism Rachel offers invaluable insights and practical strategies for listeners on their journey towards reclaiming movement and cultivating a positive relationship with their bodies. Join us as we navigate the complexities of body image struggles and toxic fitness spaces. We also talk about how the trauma field is stigmatizing larger bodied people and how we can challenge this narrative. Rachel shares briefly about her other primary focus points in her activism such as the American Academy of Pediatrics standards of care for larger bodied kids and the nuanced conversation about the weight loss injectables, or GLP-1s. 

Guest Bio

Rachel Millner (she/her) is a psychologist, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Supervisor, and a Certified Body Trust® provider. Throughout her career, Rachel has dedicated herself to assisting individuals grappling with various forms of eating disorders and disordered eating, as well as those seeking liberation from the constraints of diet culture. She perceives her role as both therapist and activist, guiding her clients through healing within the therapeutic space while advocating for broader societal change to deconstruct diet culture and combat fat phobia.

In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 

Connect with Rachel’s Work: 

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Our guest today is Dr. Lisa Folden, a pioneering physical therapist and a staunch advocate for weight inclusivity. Dr. Folden is challenging the deeply ingrained fatphobia in our society and debunking the myths surrounding body size and health. With her expertise, she's empowering individuals to embrace their bodies and prioritize their well-being without the constraints of societal bias.

Dr. Folden is not only a licensed physical therapist but also a body image coach. Her work focuses on promoting a holistic approach to health, where physical activity and self-care are accessible and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of their size. She has been a vocal critic of the conventional weight-centric health paradigm, and through her practice and advocacy, she is paving the way for a more inclusive and compassionate healthcare system.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Lisa N. Folden is a North Carolina licensed physical therapist, NASM certified  behavior change specialist and Anti-diet Health & Body Image Coach. She owns Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants in Charlotte, NC where she provides trauma-informed and weight-inclusive care to clients in diverse bodies and those in eating disorder recovery. As a health at every size (HAES®️) ambassador and movement expert, Dr. Folden assists clients seeking healthier lifestyles. Her weight-neutral approach encourages intuitive eating, joyful movement, body acceptance and breaking up with toxic diet culture.

 In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 

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